Keys Family Creates Suicide Prevention Fund at CFFK to Turn Tragedy into Opportunity to Assist Others

Aaron Davis Broadaway, with his grandparents Miki and Billy Davis, in December 2019.

Turning a personal tragedy into an opportunity to help others, a long-time Keys family has created the Aaron Davis Broadaway Suicide Prevention Fund at the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys (CFFK). Aaron’s grandparents, Billy and Miki Davis, created the new fund to support local nonprofits who provide suicide prevention and training programs and offer assistance to those in need of mental health support.

During his life, Aaron often spent time in the Keys visiting his grandparents and volunteering with his grandfather, Billy Davis, who Aaron called “Big Guy.” They would assist numerous local nonprofits and serve others. “Many people knew Aaron and he was part of the fabric of this community,” says Billy. Setting up the fund was a way to make a difference and aid others, raise awareness for the alarming number of suicides that occur each year, and allow Aaron’s memory to live on following his death late last year.

A civic leader who has lived in Key West for 25 years, Billy Davis is the founder and executive director of A Positive Step of Monroe County, a nonprofit which assists at-risk youth and their families.  None of the contributions to the new suicide prevention fund will benefit A Positive Step organization.

The Davis’ are hopeful that others who have gone through this tragic experience may also be able to help, so that the fund can provide ongoing support through grants to local nonprofits for suicide prevention programs and training and benefit those at risk, especially young people, in Monroe County. “Helping others is the best way to honor Aaron,” says Billy.

Anyone interested in making a gift to the new fund may visit cffk.org/suicideprevention. More information about the Community Foundation and its programs and services is available at cffk.org.

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